I finished a digital image tonight and want to share it with you. The work , I believe opens up a dialogue about identity, memory and culture. It is built on all I have learnt as a self-taught artist. The image pays homage to Frida Kahlo again. I see something about the way she structured her works as having rubbed off on me. I am not suggesting that this is an outstanding work by any means, but it is about the best I can do at this time.

The digital image is a combination of photographic images merged together over many layers. Photographs are of my beautiful model Brigid,and other images from my extensive collection of biscuit tins. (I will tell you about that later!)

Susan and I reflected over a glass of wine this evening. We feel so privileged to be artists and are grateful to be part of the creative wave of energy that carries we artists ‘onwards’. I think Carey used the word ‘onwards’…thanks Carey!

Today we had the meeting of the Wide Bay artists. Trudie and Jessica, our blog administrator joined us. We brushed up our blogging skills and so are all feeling more confident . We chatted about the works we had commenced and ideas surrounding them. It was a very friendly and informative meeting, which we followed up with a delicious lunch at ‘Indulge’ – one of our favourite cafes in the central business district.

Adrienne went back to the gallery to print some works while Trevor, Susan and I had an adventurous afternoon visiting a number of charity shops. All in all… a wonderful day!

Greetings all! I’ve just returned from my own “Wide Bay” of Tampa Bay, Florida where I grew up. While there I installed one of my most High Desert of paintings, Fiestagave.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Noland’s comment re: “regional painting.” Wide Bay – High Desert does not explicitly call on us to work in a particular vein, but it seems that we are all thinking about place. The influence of place may be (?) less apparent in abstract painting. Is it shown though the use of “evocative” forms? Choice of color palette?

Noland expertly combines figurative and abstract elements in much of her work and I look forward to seeing how she approaches this project. I’m just getting started and have no idea where it’ll go. As the weather allows, my primary studio is in the backyard here in the Mesilla valley near downtown Las Cruces. I believe that this place informs even the most abstract “head” work. Onward . . . Carey

Because I haven’t posted in awhile and just saw the great posts from the last week or so….I want to add something. I’m going to take pix of my studio next week (if I remember) to share…I am sure it will horrify most, but, hey…..I’m messy. Till then…posting a couple of drawings that were in a show a couple of years ago. I used graphite (pencil, sigh) on a monotyped ground color. Small and intimate. Loved doing them.

It is probably most practical to meet at BRAG on Monday. The Access gallery where Adrienne will be working would be a good place to start. To get to the Access studio, you can go upstairs at the back of the BRAG building. How does 10am sound for the meeting?

These digital works seem to be forming a story….a very Australian story. I have become quite keen to incorporate the aerial photos of the landscape, so I have a number of works going at the same time. Most artists work like that I would guess. Anyway, I’m happy to go with the flow.

I will be incorporating in my work, some of Australia’s notable institutions…the ‘Big Pineapple’ and the ‘Big Banana’ and many other of these ‘Big’ phenomenons. Parts of a tourism strategy gone wrong I think, but yet they keep popping up. There is a rumour going arround, that Bundaberg is going to get a ‘Big Strawberry’! Well, I hope it is a rumour!

How to link all these parts..the brides, the landscape and architecture etc and make it work. My strategy is to use a little mythology and where the traditional forms of mythology don’t work, I will created my own.

I’m just home from a trip to Brisbane…keen to get back to work! I think I will take a drive down to Coonar Beach this week for a little photoshoot.

Great news about Dave coming to Bundaberg for a residency. Wonderful blogging from Dave…very interesting! cx

We are thrilled to announce that David Sorensen will be undertaking an Artist In Residency at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery from the 23rd of September to the 30th October 2013. David will be using this opportunity to conitnue working on a body of watercolours based on south east Queensland as well as to prepare and attend the Wide Bay – High Desert exhibition opening at CHARTS in October. We are really delighted to have one of our USA artists travel to Australia during this exchange project. But I will leave it to David to tell you more about his plans.

The Mesilla Valley has been home to human inhabitants for at least 10,000 years, with settlements dating back at least 5000. The modern era of colonial settlement began in the 1500s when the first Spanish explorers arrived. It is known that Don Juan de Onate passed through the valley in 1598, but there was little to no settlement for two and a half centuries, due to the fierce defense of the lands by the local Apache Indians, who themselves had helped push out most of earlier groups of indigenous people. The Spanish established a famous track, El Camino Real (the royal road), from Mexico City far to the south to Santa Fe, the current state capital 285 miles (450 km) north of Las Cruces. Remnants of the original road can still be seen in the desert near here and several roads in the city lie over this track.

Many did not survive the “Jornada del Muerto” (journey of death) through the region. Las Cruces gets its name from the Spanish for “the place of the crosses” that were placed on a hill along the route to memorialize earlier travelers. Three crosses have come to represent the city and can be seen in logos, on buildings, etc. Because of its historical origins the name withstood a recent court suit concerning the separation of church and state.

The first permanent settlement was in 1842, when a small group of by-now-independent Mexican colonists settled on a land grant issued a few decades earlier in the north valley. Their town was Dona Ana. The oldest church in southern New Mexico, Our Lady of Purification Church, still stands along with a few old adobe structures.

Church and adobe “horno” oven in old Dona Ana.

Old adobe homes along El Camino Real in Dona Ana.

There were various skirmishes in the territorial wars between the USA and Mexico in the area until this disputed part of Mexico was ceded to the US at the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848 and through follow-on agreements in 1853. In 1849 a group of American and Dona Ana settlers met to draw lots for 84 original plots in what was to become Las Cruces, complete with an American style Main Street. At about the same time, La Mesilla, a few miles south was also founded, but along more Mexican lines. Mesilla has retained its Mexican village flavor to this day, as seen in the town plaza and adobe homes. It has become a popular tourist destination as a result of its historic character. Various famous names of the “Wild Old West” such as Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, are part of Mesilla’s past, somewhat akin to Ned Kelly and his Gang in folklore.

Basilica of San Albino in the Mesilla plaza, with carnival rides for Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) celebrations.

Old storefronts in Mesilla

Old home in Mesilla.

The area remained very dangerous for settlers, however, so several forts were established by the US government in the new territory (new Mexico did not become a state until 1912) to protect the border from Indian raids and later Mexican revolutionaries. The ruins of one, Fort Selden, can be seen in the north part of the valley. It was manned by Buffalo Soldiers, newly freed African Americans.

Old wagon and ruins at Fort Selden State Monument.

The strong Spanish-speaking heritage in this region can be seen in numerous place and family names tracing back to early settlers, as well as in cultural aspects, which I’ll post later in a separate blog. The Armijo and Amador family burial plots and crypts are still in the old city cemetery, though much weathered by the harsh desert climate.

Armijo-Gallager House, downtown Las Cruces.

Weathered wooden tombstones with Amador crypt in distance, in San Jose Cemetery.

Another legacy of early settlement is the system of irrigation ditches (acequia) that still wind through parts of downtown.

Much of the old section of Las Cruces lost its character during much maligned urban renewal efforts in the 1970s, but the Mesquite historic neighborhood along the El Camino Real route on the east side of Main Street still has many historic and traditional adobe homes, with long-time residents having relatively modest incomes. Some artists have made this their home as well (I almost bought a 100 year old adobe studio there myself when house hunting last year), and there are several nice galleries to include the Unsettled Gallery. There is a mix of run-down and restored properties, overall on an upward trend as greater efforts are being made to improve the downtown areas.

The next big change to the city occurred when the railroad line came to town in 1881 (Mesilla passed on the opportunity), bringing the outside world and the prosperity of new markets and goods. Soon a new community sprang up in the several blocks between the depot (now a museum) and Main Street. Today this area is known as the Alameda historic district, populated by the merchant class. There was almost a competition to build more modern and trendy homes in a range of architectural styles….ranch, bungalow, mission, prairie, tudor, etc. Pioneer Park is a focal point in this popular and improving neighborhood. The homes range from modest to mansion, again with various artists (like me) in residence. Many older homes have a casita, or separate apartment in back for relatives and visitors. The following photos are a sampling of my neighborhood.

My own 1927 home in the Alameda district.

Pioneer Park

There are numerous new suburban neighborhoods around the city, most booming in the last few decades, with most growth, including the “big box” chain stores and restaurants on the east side Mesa. Most of these are of contemporary “Southwest” design. There are condominiums, higher density detached homes, and large properties further toward the mountains on the southeast or near Picacho Peak on the west.

Condo/apartment homes.

Suburban sprawl on the Mesa.

Another major node of more recent development has been around the New Mexico State University campus on the south side of the city. This school was established as an agricultural and technical college in the late 1800s and has grown to be a large Uni with over 30,000 students. It is surrounded by many shops and restaurants, with several large convention/event halls nearby. A tradition has been to paint a large letter on “A” Mountain (Tortugas Peak) nearby. One of our team, Jenny Gilbertson, attended NMSU at one point and it was through her recommendations about Las Cruces and Mesilla that led me to move here last year, so thanks NMSU…Go Aggies! One big community event is the annual football rivalry between two local perennial State Championship high schools, hosting well over 20,000 fans in NMSU’s stadium. Not quite State of Origin, but impressive for a town of 100,000.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we have our seventh Wide Bay – High Desert artist confirmed! Please all welcome Carey Crane to the project and we look forward to getting to know Carey and his work. For more information please check out the meet the artists page on this site.